All Saint’s Church

October 24, 2001

On December 8, 2000 I was offered a new job at SWIFT within another department. This was an answer to a prayer because it would get me off the rotating shiftwork schedule that I had been working for the past 21 years. I accepted the job and things were going well. After several months SWIFT transfered the manager who hired me for the new job and assigned a new one. The new manager said I was not going to be needed for the job I was hired to do and she wanted me to take over the responsibilities of another person in Manassas. I was given no choice in the matter and was told I would be dividing my time between Culpeper and Manassas starting April 17, 2001.

The job I was now assigned to do was a less challenging position than what I previously had and I was not very happy about it. SWIFT has a long history of stepping on people. The one thing that made this change a lot easier to take was the fact that All Saint’s Church is about a 1 minute walk from SWIFT. I was now able to attend daily mass there each day and still be on time for work. When I take my lunch break I always go to the church and pray the Rosary. I do this everyday. Each Wednesday All Saint’s has Eucharistic Adoration all day long.

On Wednesday October 24, 2001 I went to Adoration for my lunch break and I was walking towards the entrance of the church and I noticed a piece of trash on the ground and I asked myself why anyone would throw trash on the church grounds. I bent over to pick up the trash and when I did the unmistakable scent of roses was suddenly there. It lasted for about 3 seconds. The roses came in perfect synchronization with me picking up the trash. As I have said before, it is unmistakable.

This new assignment in Manassas has turned out to be a good thing. SWIFT just laid off 50 people this past November, Twenty five of them in Culpeper and Manassas. If I had not taken the job that I was offered on December 8, 2000 I would have been laid off and would now be unemployed.